Improvement in artificial-stone veneer



J. A. MEHLING. Artificial StoneVneer.

N.FETEHS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAFHEH, WASHINGTON. D. C4

UNITE 'raras Arun FFTE.

JOHN A. MEHLINYG, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD HIS RIGHT TOSYLVESTER J. WAGNER, -OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN ARTIFICIAL-STONE VENEER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 211,860, dated February4, 1879 application filed June 14, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI I, JOHN A. MnnLrNe, of Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga,and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inArtificial-Stone Veneer, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, andto the letters of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 is a plan view, representing` the surface of a piece of inlaidwork made up in accordance with my invention; and Fig. 2 is a sectionalview, showing a base of wood or other material having a thin coating orveneer of artitici al stone applied thereto in accordance with saidinvention.

Hy improvements have relation to the ornamentation of wood, stone,metal, or other material by the application thereto of a thin coating orveneer of artificial stone; and said improvements consist in theproduction of anew and useful article, as will be hereinafter rst fullydescribed, and then pointed out in the claim,

The desirability and utility of a veneer of artiiicial marble or otherstone for purposes of ornamenting mantels, wainscoting, furniture,Gaskets, the., are obvious from a consideration of the inexpensivenature of the material and the highly ornamental eiiects which may beproduced by its application.

Heretofore it has been regarded as practically impossible to utilizeartificial stone for ornamental purposes, except in sections about aninch or more in thickness, which thickness rendered the material tooheavy to be advantageously used in many circumstances and too expensive.To overcome this it has been proposed to cast or mold the material inmetal boxes or troughs, and then to apply this filled trough for thepurposes intended. This method is useless in such situations as theornamentation of an extended or irregular surface, it being requiredthat the veneer shall present y an unbroken face in order to produce thedesired eect, and this cannot be accomplished with the box.

In accordance with my improved method the surface which is to beveneered should be prepared in some suitable way so as to hold themarble or stone. This may be conveniently done by driving in a number ofnails or screws, if the surface be wood. The :nails or screws may beunited by a series of wires, if desirable, and these are finallyembedded in the material of the veneer. lf the surface be metal,projections may be punched up thereon, or otherwise suitably formed. Avery good, and, perhaps, preferable, method of preparing t-hc surface isto coat it with varnish or glue, or any substance to which sand willadhere well, and before this is dry cover it with sand or powdered stoneor iron filings, emery, &c. When it is so dry that it cannot be rubbed'off with the lingers it is ready to receive the veneer.

I take cement or plaster, (Keenes or other suitable ground cementpreferred,) mix with water to about the consistency of butter, then addcolors, which must vary in accordance with the stone desired to beimitated. The colors might be mingled in the dry state with the cement.The cement is next rolled out to the thickness desired` and placed uponthe prepared surface to be ornam ented, or it may be rolled directlyupon this surface, as is desirable in many cases. Being not yet dry, bythis means the surface, if uneven, may. be evened up; or, if curved, asin moldings and the like, the plastic stone will conform to all thecurvatures, and will iinally harden in the desired position and shape,after which it may be polished by the usual methods.

Under some circumstances it may be desired that the veneer be put uponthe market already applied to a backing of wood or other material. Tosupply this want I propose to furnish a light backing, A, of wood, &c.,having the veneer B applied thereto and polished. This will be easilyapplied in many cases by screws or pins entering the back of the body A,and since the marble is securely fastened at every point of its innerface, this form will be quite uniformly advantageous over the previousboxing` hereinbefore alluded to.

To produce a veneer which shall represent an inlaid surface, as in Fig.1, l roll out the material, as before, to any thickness required, andcut out the places to be lled with a chisel or similar implement. Thespaces thus left are filled with other material made to representdifferent stones. This cutting should be accomplished while the materialis yet plastic or, if done when it is hard, the body-coating must bemade wet, by which it is soon softened, and the filling` shouldimmediately follow. The -surface is then dressed off, and, when dry, maybe polished as before.

Instead of cutting through the veneer, I nd it preferable in somecases-as when several pieces are to be made of the same designto stampthe required indentations in the plastic material by use of a surfacehaving corresponding ribs or projections 5 or, if the material hasalready hardened, the outlines of the design to be inlaid may be cutwith a knife in stamp shape. This is much quicker and gives more uniformresults. Into the indentations thus produced the required inlay materialis placed, and the whole finished olf as before.

So far as the invention is concerned, it is intended to employ any ofthe known bases for the artificial stone, except, of course, such aswill not admit of manipulation as explained.

The invention should be distinguished from the application of tiling,which is baked hard and is much more expensive than the artificialmarble, and which, moreover, does not afford the desired effect-viz.,the appearance of a natural stone.

It should also be distinguished from such applications of cement stonesas are instanced in numerous forms ot' pavements, Src., wherein theblocks are made heavy and rest upon a horizontal base. These forms I donot desire to be understood as claiming herein; but,

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-

As a new articleof manufacture, the hereindescribed veneer of articialstone, the same being applied for ornamental purposes to a base'ofcheaper material, and being held thereon at every point of the adjacentpreviouslyprepared surfaces, presenting an unbroken face, the wholebeing adapted to be utilized substantially in the manner and for thepurposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand inthe presence of two witnesses.

JOHN A. MEHLING. Witnesses:

CHAs. A. STIBLE, J. H. ROGERS.

